Acquiring your own apartment is the biggest and most important purchase in life for most people. It is good for the buyer to know his rights and obligations in the sale of a new apartment.
Photo: Bonava
The buyer of housing stock is protected by the Housing Sales Act. The buyer of the apartment has at least the rights defined by law, and the rights cannot be agreed on in another way.
The Housing Sales Act has provisions for, among other things, making a housing sale and protecting the shareholder during the construction phase of the house.
RS items and other items
From the point of view of the buyer, the sale of a new apartment can be divided into two types. There are so-called RS properties for sale, which are already sold during the construction phase. In them, the security systems required by the Housing Trade Act have been put in place for the benefit of the buyers and the housing company. The RS system comes from the words "recommended by financial institutions".
In addition, there are properties for sale that will only be sold and reserved bindingly after the building control has approved all the buildings for the company. These destinations do not have the mandatory security systems in RS destinations. The seller must also obtain a so-called non-performance bond for these items.
In the RS site, the interests of home buyers must be protected
The interests of buyers of apartments sold during the construction phase must be protected in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Housing Trade Act. The main protective provisions are as follows:
- The trade in the construction phase must be made in writing.
- The seller must place the security documents required by the Housing Sales Act to be stored in a bank or regional administrative office. Security documents form the framework for project implementation. These include security certificates, financial plan, property information, building permit and permit drawings, construction method report and special work reports and contract.
- The seller must provide the securities required by the Housing Sales Act for the benefit of the company and the shareholders.
- Buyers have the right to choose a construction observer and an auditor as their representatives.
In apartment advertising, the title RS target is used for housing companies covered by the protection system.
Get to know the housing association loan
+A so-called housing association loan is generally used in new apartments. A housing association loan is a loan taken out in the name of the housing association during the establishment phase, which is paid to the bank by paying the interest and installments of the loan. The housing association loan is granted to apartment buyers according to the articles of association. The same applies to repair loans in old building societies.
The apartment buyer can choose whether to pay off his own share of the loan during the transaction phase. If the buyer keeps his share of the housing association loan, he amortizes it during the ownership period financial or capital consideration in the form of a monthly housing association. The owner of the apartment can also later pay off his share of the housing association loan to the housing association as specified in the articles of association.
Housing association loans can be in the early stages temporary repayment holiday, in which case the loan is not amortized, but only the loan interest is paid to the housing company's bank. The buyer should carefully find out the amount of the capital consideration. The capital consideration is naturally lower during the grace period, when only interest is paid on the loan. When the housing association starts repaying the loan, the capital consideration rises significantly.
The buyer of the apartment can also have personal bank loan, whose interest and repayments he pays as agreed with the bank. The biggest difference in loans is that while you are responsible for your own home loan alone, the housing association is responsible for the housing association loan, i.e. the partners together.
In addition, the shareholder always pays the housing association a maintenance fee, which covers the maintenance and upkeep costs of the property. Capital consideration and Maintenance consideration together make up the so-called company consideration. If one of the shareholders can't manage their consideration payments, the housing company can resort to debt collection or taking over the apartment. In the worst case, unpaid consideration can end up in other partners' accounts, other such situations are rare.
Apartment debt-free price means the purchase price and the possible housing association loan share combined. Selling price, i.e. purchase price is, on the other hand, the amount that the buyer pays to the seller. If the share of the company loan in the debt-free price is large, the selling price may seem small. However, you should always look at the debt-free price of the apartment and your own total debt and costs in relation to your ability to pay. For example, changes in interest rates affect both personal and housing association loans.
According to the law that entered into force in July 2023, the grace period for housing association loans may be no more than one year, and the amount of credit taken by the housing association may not exceed 60 percent of the debt-free price of shares in new apartments for sale.
Find out about the plot
+The housing company can be located either on its own plot or on a rented plot. When the building society owns the plot, the cost arising from the plot for the building society is only real estate tax, which the apartment owner participates in by paying a maintenance fee. Own plot means a higher price of the apartment at the time of purchase, because the price also includes the plot. In this case, the monthly costs of the apartment will be clearly lower.
The housing association can be located in the so-called on a traditional rental plot, in which case the housing association cannot claim the plot as its own. In this case, the housing association pays the plot owner rent, which the apartment owner pays to the housing association in his maintenance fee. The buyer should find out the terms of the land lease agreement between the building society and the plot owner, such as the amount of the rent and the conditions for increases, as well as the length of the lease agreement, so that he can anticipate any changes to his own maintenance fee.
Nowadays, in urban areas, it is more common that the building of the housing association is located in a so-called on an optional rental plot. According to the terms of the land lease agreement, the building company pays rent to the plot owner, which the partners pay in their part to the building company as so-called plot rental consideration. The land lease agreement drawn up between the plot owner and the building association enables the building association to purchase certain parts of the plot. If the owner of the apartment redeems his own share of the plot by paying off his apartment-specific plot share, then the plot rental fee does not need to be paid to the building society. The buyer of the apartment can redeem his own share of the plot at the time of the transaction or later at the times and under the conditions determined by the company's articles of association.
Find out the builder's background
In addition to information about the apartment itself and the building society, it is good for the buyer to find out who he is doing business with. You can use the following information sources for help:
- Trusted builders -portal presents member companies of the building construction industry and information on e.g. quality production ability.
- Zecks offers free company information and customer reviews of all companies in Finland that influence the choice.
- www.ytj.fi contains basic company information, whether the company is, for example, in the advance collection and VAT register and since when the registrations have been valid.
- Customer satisfaction survey for new housing construction EPSI Rating measures the quality experience of consumer customers in a comprehensive and consistent way.
Download the new home buyer's guide
In the buyer's guide for the sale of a new apartment, you can get useful information about buying a new apartment, including making a sale, additions and alterations, moving and annual inspections, and liability for defects in the apartment.